GARLAND’S LATE SHOT LIFTS LA SALLE TO ROUND OF 16

If anyone says La Salle is making its first trip to the round of 16 in a very, very long time, don’t believe it.

The last time the upstart Explorers got this far, the NCAA Tournament didn’t even have a round of 16.

But now it does and the little school from Philadelphia is there.

Tyrone Garland banked home a scooping layup with 2 seconds left and the 13th-seeded Explorers beat Mississippi 76-74 on Sunday at Kansas City, Mo., making this their deepest run since they advanced to the championship game of the 24-team field in 1955.

“Time was running out, and I felt like I could get the drive,” Garland said. “When I cut, I just saw an opening and took the ball up.”

By inches, the ball off the hands of the 6-foot-1 Garland cleared the outstretched hands of Reginald Buckner, the Rebels’ muscular 6-9 center.

“He blocked my shot a couple times during the game, but I ain’t scared of nobody,” Garland said. “I went in there and knew if I could get an open shot, I could make it.”

In the regional semifinals in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Explorers will meet ninth-seeded Wichita State.

Ramon Galloway had 24 points for the last remaining team in the tournament from the Atlantic 10. The Explorers (24-9) were playing their third game in five days after starting the tournament in the First Four on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

But they showed no fatigue.

“We’re pretty young. It just feels like AAU all over again. We play a game, go to sleep, wake up, play another game,” said Galloway. “We’re pretty excited for the whole trip.”

No. 12 Ole Miss (27-9) led 74-72 with 1:58 left but failed to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001.

“I’ve always said that winning teams make winning plays, and to La Salle’s credit, they made the winning plays down the stretch,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said.

The Rebels had a height advantage over La Salle’s four-guard lineup and outrebounded the Explorers 40-30 but failed to make their zone defense work.

“We couldn’t contain them off the dribble,” Kennedy said. “We couldn’t contain them even in a zone.”

After Tyreek Duren’s two foul shots tied it 74-all at the 1:07 mark, Mississippi star and team lightning rod Marshall Henderson missed an off-balance bank shot that would have given the Rebels the lead.

Henderson had 21 points in a game with 11 lead changes.

Duren had 19 points for La Salle and Garland had 17.

Murphy Holloway had 14 points for Mississippi, which fell one win shy of breaking the school record. Jarvis Summers had 12 and Nick Williams had 10 for the Rebels, who were a miserable 10 for 21 from the foul line.

In the frantic final seconds, Mississippi’s LaDarius White missed from the top of the key and the ball scooted out of bounds while everybody went for the rebound.

The Rebels were given possession and Henderson’s off-balance shot failed to draw iron. Before he could launch another try, the buzzer sounded, giving La Salle possession with 33.2 seconds left even though Henderson pleaded with an official, saying, “He took my hand off.”

East Region

No. 2 Miami 63, No. 7 Illinois 59: In Austin, Texas, Shane Larkin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute left and Miami (29-6) gained possession on a ball knocked out of bounds that probably should have gone to Illinois (23-13), helping the Hurricanes hold on for a victory. After Larkin’s first field goal in about 9 1/2 minutes, D.J. Richardson missed a 3-pointer. In the fight for the rebound, the ball appeared to ricochet off the hands of Miami’s Kenny Kadji out of bounds. But the Hurricanes kept the ball, and Durand Scott made two free throws after that.

South Region

No. 3 Florida 78, No. 11 Minnesota 64: In Austin, Texas, Mike Rosario had 25 points and Florida (28-7) used an overpowering first half to roll past Minnesota (21-13) and into the round of 16 for third consecutive year. The Gators shot a blistering 65 percent in the first half and led by 21 by halftime.

No. 1 Kansas 70, No. 8 North Carolina 58: In Kansas City, Mo., Kansas got the best of Roy Williams and his Tar Heels (25-11) once again. Behind the impassioned play of Travis Releford and Jeff Withey, the Jayhawks shook themselves out of a first-half slumber and blitzed No. 8 seed North Carolina down the stretch. Withey had 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Releford finished with 22 points for the Jayhawks (31-5), who also knocked former coach Williams’ team out of the NCAA Tournament during their 2008 title run and again last season, when Kansas marched all the way to the Final Four.